Steinberg Halion 5 Manual
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81 Using the BrowserThe Location Tree The Location Tree This section allows you to navigate through the programs, layers, or zones in any folder. You can even access files contained in VST Sound containers, HSB files, and ISO files. When you select an entry in the tree, the results list on the right shows the corresponding content. •Use the “Refresh Views” command on the context menu to update the tree. This is useful if you added a new disk to your setup or created a new folder on the hard disk. •Use the “Rescan Disk” command on the context menu to rescan the selected element in the tree. The corresponding files are opened, the information is extracted and the database file is updated accordingly. About Locations In the Browser, you can set up so-called locations, that is, folders or directories on your system that contain media files. By setting up locations, you can organize the files available in the results list according to context. The text field above the tree shows the name of the selected folder. If the name is preceded by an asterisk, the folder has not been saved as a location yet. •Click in the text field to open the list of favorite locations. •The “Add Selected Media Node as Favorite Location” button adds the current folder to the favorite locations. You can keep the folder name or specify a new name for the location. •The “Remove Favorite Location” button deletes the current location from the list. Select Favorite Location Add Selected Media Node as Favorite LocationRemove Favorite Location
82 Using the BrowserThe Results List The Results List The results list shows the files found in the selected folder. It displays all files that HALion can read, such as VST presets, samples, or third-party sampler programs. Next to information like file name and path, the columns in the results list can be configured to show several attributes, see “Configuring the Results List” on page 83. The results list also shows any subfolders of the selected folder, but does not include the files contained in the subfolders themselves. To see the content inside subfolders, you have to select the corresponding subfolder. Navigating in the Results List •To open a folder or location, double-click it in the results list. If you double-click on a preset, its contents are shown. •To move up one level in the folder hierarchy, click the “Browse Containing Folder” button. Searching the List You can enter a search text to limit the results to files with matching names. For presets, the search also takes into account attributes. The value field in the top right corner indicates the number of files that match the search text. •To clear the search text, click the “Clear Filter Text” button. Browse Containing FolderSearch TextClear Filter Text
83 Using the BrowserThe Results List Searching for Files on Your System Instead of searching the current results list, you can also use the text search to look for files on your hard disks or in VST Sound archives. Proceed as follows: 1.Select the location that you want to use as the starting point for the search. 2.In the top left corner of the results list, click the “Search Location Content” button (the magnifying glass icon) and enter the search text in the text field. 3.To start the search, press [Return] or click the “Search/Stop Search” button to the right of the search text. The files that match the search criteria are listed in the results list. Note that only the first 10000 search results are displayed. 4.Double-click a result to show it in the location tree. ÖThe higher up in the hierarchy the location, the longer the search will take. Therefore, it is not recommended to search entire hard drives. Searching for Specific File Types •Click the button to the right of the search field to specify whether you want to search for samples, layers, programs, multis, or all types. ÖYou can also use this function to search for the corresponding file types from third- party samplers. ÖWhen you close HALion, the search results are not saved. Configuring the Results List •To configure which attributes are shown in the results list, click the “Set up Result Columns” button in the upper right corner of the results list and activate the corresponding entries. •To sort a column in ascending or descending order, click the column header. Search Location Content Search Text Search/ Stop SearchSearch for File Type
84 Using the BrowserThe Preview and File Info Section The Preview and File Info Section You can listen to the samples using the controls in the Preview section. These are the same as in the Import dialog, see “Listening to Samples before Import” on page 70. The info display provides the following information about the focused sample: length, channels, bit depth, and sample rate. If available, root key, key, and velocity range are also shown. Specifying a Destination Folder When programs are imported, HALion creates a folder for each program. The name of the folder corresponds to the name of the imported program. Inside this folder, HALion creates a subfolder in which the corresponding samples are saved, if necessary. The folder specified in the “Destination Folder” field is used to save samples from bank or container files, such as GigaSampler files (“.gig”). You can enter the path manually or click the button to the right to navigate to a specific directory. ÖIf you do not specify a destination folder for sampler formats that use container files, you are asked to do so during the first import operation. This folder is then used for all following operations. Adding Presets to the MediaBay Automatically on Import The “Automatically Add Preset to MediaBay on Import” option allows you to automatically create VST presets for each imported program in the user presets folder of HALion, thereby making them available in the MediaBay. When this option is deactivated, an imported program is only available in the current HALion instance. To use it in another project, you have to save it first. Missing Samples If you browse the samples of a program and you cannot load or prelisten them, they may have been moved or deleted. In this case, the sample info displays “Sample not found”. To remedy this, load the program again and make sure that no samples are missing, see “Finding Missing Samples” on page 71. Afterwards, be sure to save the program with the restored sample paths. Loading Files You can load selected programs, layers, zones, or samples by dragging them from the results list to the Slot Rack, the Program Table, or the Program Tree. Programs, layers, and zones can also be dragged directly from the tree. In all cases, the Import Folder dialog opens, where you can specify how to import the contained subfolders and samples, see “Importing Folders” on page 71. ÖYou can also use the key commands [Return] and [L] to load the file that is focused in the results list into the active slot in the Slot Rack. Some file types, such as protected Kontakt programs, cannot be loaded. In this case, an icon is displayed to indicate that the file format is not supported. Unsupported content
85 Using the BrowserLoading Files Protected programs and layers are shown with a lock icon to indicate that you cannot extract single zones or samples. However, you can load the programs as a whole. Protected content ÖThese icons only appear after selecting the programs. Loading files from HALion 3 HALion allows you to load the FXB and FXP files from HALion 3. These files can either be located in a directory on the file system or inside an HSB container file. HSB container files have to be registered in the MediaBay before they can be used, see below. When loading FXB files, the multi-program is replaced. When FXB or FXP files are referring to HSB container files, the sample paths always work. For samples located on the file system, for instance, when banks or programs have been copied from another computer system, you might have to reestablish the sample paths, see “Finding Missing Samples” on page 71. Registering HSB Container Files •To register an HSB file, right-click it in the location tree and select “Register HSB”. You can also register HSB files from the MediaBay, see “Registering HSB Files” on page 29. Importing FXP/FXB Files To import FXP and FXB files, right-click the file in the location tree and select “Import HALion FXP/FXB-File”. Single FXP files from inside an HSB file cannot be imported. For these, use the “Register HSB” function instead. Loading Third-Party Sampler Programs You can also load third-party sampler programs. The supported programs appear as nodes in the location tree. You can load entire programs, or selected layers or samples. The following formats can be imported: -Emagic EXS24 - NI Kontakt 1.x to 4.1 (except for encrypted files, scripted content, and containers) - Akai* S1000, S2000, S3000, S5000/6000 - EMU* 3, 3X, ESI, 4, 4K, E64, E6400, ESynth, Ultra - Roland S770* - Kurzweil (KRZ, K25, K26) - SoundFonts 2.x - Giga 1, 2, limited Giga 3 support (except for encrypted content, time stretching and pitch shifting) * ISO images on HDD only. Multis and banks in third-party sampler formats can be dropped either on the Multi- Program slot, the Slot Rack, or the Program Table. The following applies: - When you drop the multi or bank on the Multi-Program slot, the current multi is replaced.
86 Using the BrowserLoading Files - When you drop the multi or bank on the Slot Rack, new slots are created and the corresponding programs are added to the Program Table. If a multi or bank contains more programs than slots are available, the remaining programs are added to the Program Table only. The current multi is not replaced. - When you drop the multi or bank on the Program Table, the additional programs are added to the Program Table. The current multi is not replaced. ÖIf the ISO image or bank has partitions or folders, you can drag only that partition or folder to the Slot Rack or Program Table. Any contained programs are then loaded. This is different to dragging a folder from the file system to HALion. In that case, the Import Samples dialog opens and only the contained samples are imported and mapped.
87 Editing Programs and Layers in the Sound Editor Introduction The Sound editor for programs and layers lets you access parameters that are set globally for the whole program or individual layers. For example, you can transpose the pitch, adjust level and pan, and limit the playback to a certain area on the keyboard. Programs and layers share the same set of parameters because they are nearly identical. The Main Section The Main section contains basic settings for programs and layers. Octave Transposes the pitch in octave steps. Coarse Transposes the pitch in semitone steps. Fine Detunes the pitch in cents (1/100 of a semitone). Level Velocity Curve Defines how incoming MIDI velocity values are re-mapped before they are sent to the program or layer. By default, the curve is set to linear, meaning that incoming and outgoing values are identical. The characteristic of each curve is displayed by a small icon. Low Key Defines the lowest key on which the program or layer is triggered. High Key Defines the highest key on which the program or layer is triggered.
88 Editing Programs and Layers in the Sound EditorThe Trigger Section Low Vel Defines the lowest velocity on which the program or layer is triggered. High Vel Defines the highest velocity on which the program or layer is triggered. Sus, FCtrl, FSw, PB, MW, and AT The Filter options allow you to filter incoming MIDI controllers. Level Adjusts the level of the layer. This parameter works as an offset to the zone settings. Pan Defines the position of the layer in the stereo panorama. This parameter works as an offset to the zone settings. The Trigger Section The Trigger section allows you to control the triggering and releasing behavior. Ind MegaTrig If you want the key switch assignments across different layers to work individually, activate the individual MegaTrig management of these layers. This can be necessary when two layers with different key switches are used together in one program. For more information about the MegaTrig module, see “MegaTrig” on page 271. Transpose Transposes the key switches that you set up for the MegaTrig module. Start Key Defines the key that is used as the lowest key switch. Key Switch Mode Defines how long a key switch is active: •If set to Permanent, the key switch stays active until another key switch is used. •If set to Temporary, the key switch is only active for as long as the corresponding key is pressed. Default Switch Specifies the default key switch that is active when you load a program, that means, before you used the first key switch. The default key switch is also used in Temporary mode when no key switch is pressed. ÖIf you set Default Switch to a note value that is not assigned as a key switch, the lowest key switch is automatically used as the default key switch.
89 Editing Programs and Layers in the Sound EditorThe Trigger Section Filter Ctrls in Release Filters out MIDI controllers in the release phase. Modulation destinations that are using controllers keep their value after the note-off message. The following settings are available: Repedaling On an acoustic piano, you can repedal the sustain after releasing the sustain pedal for as long as the strings vibrate. The effect is that the strings play on. You can achieve a similar effect with the Repedaling option. If you release and press the pedal within the release of the amplitude envelope, the envelope jumps to the decay segment, resuming at the current level of the release. Sustain Enables sustain for the program or layer. When you use the sustain pedal, notes keep playing until you release the pedal. Sostenuto Enables sostenuto for the program or layer. Notes that are held while pressing the sostenuto pedal sustain. Successive notes do not sustain. Ind Velocity Mode Sample-based instruments often use crossfade techniques to optimize the switching between samples with different velocities. Crossfades are set up in the Mapping editor, see “Fading and Crossfading Zones” on page 140. Activate this option to apply the Velocity Mode settings to the selected layer and its children. Velocity Mode The switching or crossfading between zones can be controlled via velocity or MIDI controller. The following modes are available: OptionDescription OffMIDI controllers are processed in the release phase. OnMIDI controllers are filtered out. InheritThe zones of this layer follow the behavior that was specified for the parent layer. OptionDescription Note-onThe velocity is used to trigger the zones. ControllerA MIDI controller is used to replace the velocity, that means, the controller value is used to select the zones. The note-on message triggers the zones selected by the controller. Only the zones that belong to the corresponding velocity are played back. ContinuousA MIDI controller is used to replace the velocity. Depending on the “Velocity Fade” setting, the controller continuously fades between the zones or switches zones directly. Therefore, all zones belonging to a key are played back.
90 Editing Programs and Layers in the Sound EditorThe Voice Management Section Controller Here, you select the controller that is used when the velocity Mode option is set to Controller or Continuous. •For the most realistic playback of instruments that use crossfade techniques, activate “Velocity Fade” and set “Velocity Mode” to Continuous. •To save voices during playback of instruments that use crossfade techniques, deactivate “Velocity Fade” and set “Velocity Mode” to Note-on. •Generally, setting “Velocity Mode” to Controller and activating “Velocity Fade” is a good compromise between performance optimization and realistic playback. Velocity Fade Activate this option to use the velocity crossfades that are specified in the Mapping editor. When this option is deactivated or if no crossfades have been set up, zones switch directly between the different velocities. The Voice Management Section The Voice Management section allows you to control the maximum number of notes that you can play and to set conditions for note stealing and triggering. Voice Manager The Voice Manager option controls which Voice Management settings are applied to the selected layer. The following settings are available: OptionDescription OffThe layer automatically uses the Voice Management settings of the layer that is one step up in the hierarchy. If there is no layer with active Voice Management settings, the settings of the program are used. OnYou can make separate Voice Management settings for the selected layer. ProgramThe settings of the program are used, regardless of any Voice Management settings made for layers higher up in the hierarchy.